THE CAR HAS GRADUALLY LOST POWER OVER TIME, FIRST IT WOULD TAKE TIME TO GET UP TO SPEED AND NOW IT WILL IDLE BUT AS SOON AS YOU PUT IT IN GEAR YOU HAVE TO PUSH THE GAS PEDAL ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR JUST TO GO 2 MILES PER HR…i CHANGED THE FUEL PUMP AND FILTER, GAVE IT A TUNE UP WITH NEW PLUGS, WIRES, CAP, ROTOR…BYPASSED THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER…IT HAS A CARBURETOR ON IT …AT A LOSS
Does this Corolla have an automatic transmission or a manual trans?
When you are pushing the gas pedal to the floor and going only 2 mph…What is the RPM reading of the tachometer? (Translation=Is the engine racing, or is it still idling?)
If the engine is racing, then the first things to consider are…
…a trans problem, if it has an automatic transmission
or
…a severely slipping clutch if it has a manual transmission
Hmmmm…Were the questions that I posed too difficult in nature?
???
Sounds like maybe you need a carburetor rebuild. A bad accelerator pump in the carburetor, or a bad float, could cause those symptoms.
There’s at least a dozen possibilities. If my own car first thing – after checking for any CEL codes and making sure all the suggested engine and tranny maintenance is up to date – I’d check that the throttle cable isn’t frayed, moves the throttle mechanism smoothly and freely when you step on the gas, and hasn’t too much slack at idle. After that, I’d test timing, compression, vacuum, and valve clearances. Still a no-go? The carb is probably the next suspect after all the above has been ruled out. Best of luck.
If it is an '88 with a carb, there is no ECU to pull codes from. Time to find an Old Timer that remembers how to diagnose without computers. With a carb, the vacuum gauge is a good friend. Need a timing light, too. But, I once knew a guy that could set the timing by ear within 1 deg. of spec. He taught me a lot, but passed away several years ago.
I have an early 90’s Corolla and it has codes. Just OBD I codes is all. I think an 88 – only a few years older than mine – even tho a carb’d engine, it probably has diagnostic codes that can be read by blinking them out on the dashboard.
The '88s with a carb only had a glorified relay box to trigger a couple of vacuum solenoids. The carb was completely mechanical, no CEL. Only the CA-smog version may have had a ECU-controlled carb in '91, but even that is rare, since they were switched completely to EFI and finally ditching the carb.